Thankful

Nothing more needs to be said.

Simple joys - leaves

The random great moments

"Watch me," I just heard, and one of the two cutest girls I'm lucky to call my daughters gave me the sweetest smile when she looked up and I already was. Hope's sitting here with her first paint with water book, while Leah's at school. It struck me the other day that Hope usually gets schlepped on errands while Leah's in school to decrease the Mom with Kids to Mom with Kid. Leah, at school, does all sorts of things, including art and painting, etc. Hope does get to do special things like go have the occasional lunch at Papa's work, but she hasn't done art or painting. We'd actually taken this paint book to Russia but with two kids and one book, even I, who can't do much math, knew that equation wouldn't work well.

Here are a few pics of the artist, as well as a few others for November. I guess I did have a few on the camera after all.

And, special message to Adam: You'll have to wait until the holiday card.

More of the blissful same

We have no computer file yet with the title of Girls - November 2010. I fully expect we'll take plenty of Thanksgiving photos and will have a file to make then, but right now we're just living our day to day and I haven't had the camera out.

I'm loving it.

Language is taking leaps and bounds around here. We're getting full English sentences and only occasionally hear a Russian word. Of course, now that they're understanding more that means that we hear lots of, "Hope angry, Mama," but self expression is good, right? :)

The other big thing is an OBSESSION with the first letters of their names so we hear lots of yells in the car when we pass places like Hobby Lobby. "Mom! An H for Hope! AND an L for Leah!" Yesterday at Costco Hope kept saying, "H" for Hope and I kept saying, "There's no H in Costco." Then I realized she was seeing the smaller H in Wholesale, underneath the big Costco. These girls keep me on my toes, which is definitely good!

We're talking a lot about Thanksgiving...how on earth is this only a week away? Though I love this holiday I'm amazed at how quickly November has gone. I'm sure the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas will just fly! We (OK, I, since this is the first holiday home and traditions are now being developed!) cannot wait to make construction paper ring garlands, do their advent calendars, play with the Little People nativity and talk about Baby Jesus along with Santa, watch how they handle the tree, etc.

What we've been up to

Hope's on the couch with Killian, who has more than a few fall stickers attached to her fur. Leah's watching Sesame Street and we're having a kind of lazy morning before getting dressed and running a few errands before Leah's school. Or not. It's rainy and errand running with a 3- and 4-year old really doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me. I think maybe some stuff will wait!

And that just about sums up what's been going on around here...nothing spectacular..but that's what I've craved for years! Nothing special, other than being a family! No hoops to jump through or calls to follow up on or people to beg for help. Just a house with doll storllers in the living room, a Little People Thanksgiving display all amiss on the coffee table and Oscar being a grouch. Heaven.

The girls had their first dental appointments this week and did awesome; Leah apparently has the world's most beautiful mouth! The dentist took one look in Hope's and said, "She'll need braces at 12."

It seems like a quiet time for everyone right now. Most of the blogs I follow have been about as silent as me this week!

My goodness, my Guinness

A certain wonderful black dog has been on my mind a lot these days.

Memories and reminders of Guinness, our wonderful boy whom we lost while we were in Russia, are always close. I think of him each time we head to bed and see the two dog beds at the foot of our bed. I think of him whenever I use my computer, which is a lot, because a picture of Guinness and Killian remains as my desktop wallpaper. I just can't change it. Hope even knows his name now and mentioned him in the car today. Of course she doesn't understand who he is, where he is or any of that, but she says, "Guinness and Killian" and it both warms my heart and makes me sad because she never got to know him.

I miss him.

Today, in addition to Hope saying his name out of the blue in the car, it was pumpkin that made me tear up. That boy adored him some canned pumpkin. I wish I'd given him more.

He used to catch dog treats thrown his way. The other day, without thinking, I tossed a treat toward Killian, who never has learned the skill. It bounced off her head and I was sad, because I'd expected, in a way, Guinness to be there to catch it.

When we left, we'd just learned he likely was sick. But, he wasn't ready to leave yet and we weren't going to decide for him when it was his time. I've always believed our doggies tell US when it's time for them to make the journey. It wasn't Guinness' time yet.

But I was afraid.

Everyone told me he'd be fine. I didn't believe it. In my heart of hearts, on the last day we were home before we took him and Killian to my parents where they would stay on our custody trip, I knew it would be the last time I sat with his head on  my lap. The last time I'd spoon against his long, skinny body on the floor. The last time I'd toss a treat or hear him chatter at me or whine to go out.

Our boy had a good life. He had a good end. I know that. He was with his Mammers and she knew what to do and what to say and when he was ready. But I'll always, always, always regret not getting to whisper in his ear and be the last voice he heard. I'll always wish it had been different. But, we all know that wishing doesn't make it so. 

Words can't do him justice; they can't do any of the greyhounds my family has loved justice. We've said goodbye to so many and each one continues to hold a special place in our hearts. They were all amazing creatures, as are the ones who bless our lives daily - our special Killians Irish Red, who at the moment is literally being buried in blankets by Hope, most definitely included.

There are some days when thoughts of him make me smile, and some where they make me cry. Today is one of those days.

To the sun and the moon and the stars, my boy. You've taken a piece of my heart with you.

Stocking suggestions

Thanks for the stocking suggestions! I ended up going with these, from Pottery Barn Kids. Thanks, Jodi, for the suggestion! Leah's will be the reindeer and Hope's the snowman, in a cursive font.

Other than that, the girls have a follow-up doctor's appointment today (with more shots, boo hiss, to get them caught up on vaccinations) and I just made their first dental appointments for next week. We are still waiting on their US citizenship paperwork which is frustrating me a bit. We have our first follow-up report (required to file with Russian officials) scheduled for mid-December. Other than that, we're enjoying our routine. Tomorrow we're housebound in the a.m. waiting for a dishwasher repair - apparently ours is part of a recall that qualifies us for a free, in-home replacement of the faulty/dangerous part. Ah, domesticity.

That Halloween thing was awesome!

Leah and Hope give Halloween a HUGE thumbs up! They had a WONDERFUL time. We went to visit a friend before heading to my parents house; they have things like sidewalks in their neighborhood (ours doesn't) and being with them allowed them to share the fun of the girls' first Halloween night. First my mom went with us while Dad handed out candy at their house and then we switched. The girls got huge gift bags from my parents and loved their cosutmes.

We wondered what they'd think of trick-or-treating and we started them out with my parents next-door-neighbors. After the routine (ring door bell, say the words, accept the candy, say thank you) were complete, the first word out of Leah's mouth was an excited, "MORE!" So more she got.

Here are some pics. The first one pretty much sums up the happiness of the evening!

Now it's on to discussions of Thanksgiving. My mom got them an absolutely adorable Little People Thanksgiving set, and a harvest tractor set, and the jack-o-lanterns have been replaced by turkey stuff over here. We'll put some leaf decals on the windows as soon as I can find the bag. I cleaned out the car the other day and brought the bag in and can't find it! It's driving me CRAZY! 

Thinking ahead (but according to the stores and music on the radio I'm way behind) - does anyone have a source for personalized Christmas stockings they adore? I have a few places I'm considering but wondered if anyone had purchased personalized stockings they loved and were willing to share the source.